A mid-size temple in Caotun dedicated to Yuhuang Dadi (玉皇大帝), the Jade Emperor, tracing its history back to 1964. The congregation moved to its current site in 1967, a purpose-built temple was completed in 1972, and successive expansions through to 1995 produced the present structure. The temple maintains a traditional Chinese orchestra and touring Beiguan (北管) and Taiwanese opera troupes, and each Lunar New Year draws a divinatory fortune stick for the state of the nation.
A stone garden by the roadside not long before sundown.
A roadside stone garden (石雕園) stands near the temple, featuring a marble huábiǎo (華表) column and a huge Nine Dragon Ball (九龍球). Stone lanterns line the laneway leading up to the gate; their origin is uncertain, though it seems unlikely they were relocated from a since-vanished Shinto shrine, as the style is different.
The gateway to Yuhuang Temple in rural Caotun.
The view from the inner courtyard.
The outer censer, one foot facing the world.
A bunch of fortunes (籤詩) dangling from hooks on the wall.
Beacons of light line the inner walls of the temple. Each of these was sponsored by a supporter of the temple.
An old stone lantern with a halo of soot. Evidently it has seen some use but not for quite some time.
A closer look at the huge dragon ball.
One last glance at the stone garden in a traffic mirror before heading out.
I am a web application developer, photojournalist, urban explorer, and history enthusiast passionate about the open web and documenting my experiences on this planet. This project was founded in the early 2010s and has evolved into a sort of personal Wikipedia of places that interest me (and often the photographs I’ve taken there). I’m originally from Toronto, Canada, but spend most of my time residing in Taiwan.
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